< The 2014 All-Japan Research Team

Tairiku Sakaguchi
Mizuho Securities Group
First-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 1

Team debut: 2014

Joining this roster in third place is Tairiku Sakaguchi of Mizuho Securities Group, described by one loyalist as a complete analyst whose differentiating client service includes often-same-day analyses of corporate earnings reports and “follow-ups with managements after results, with company meetings and conference calls.” Among Sakaguchi’s preferred names is Stanley Electric Co., a Tokyo-based supplier of automotive lighting products. Stanley’s earnings will outstrip the sector average, he says, propelled by “advances in value-added products” in the company’s mainstay headlights business. These offerings include light-emitting-diode headlamps that boast “more advanced capabilities,” he says, “such as adaptive front-lighting systems and driving-beam technologies.” He also foresees benefits deriving from management’s “emphasis on profit budgeting” and shareholder returns, as evidenced by its annual share-buyback policy in effect since 2006, and improvements in efficiency stemming from so-called continuous-production methods. Sakaguchi’s target for the stock is ¥2,750, which represents a 24.9 percent upside to the share price in mid-March.